You are here

Cerro Coso to Present Rocky Horror Picture Show

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

When Elena Vitale's community education theater production class presents The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Cerro Coso Community College Lecture Center, audiences will once again be zapped and powed by the outrageous musical sci-fi horror spoof that spawned the king of the midnight movies and a huge international cult following. A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1940s through the 1960s, the 1973 musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple getting caught in a storm and coming to the home of a mad scientist unveiling his new creation, a muscle man named Rocky Horror.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the London premiere of the freaky creation of Richard O'Brien which opened at the Royal Court's 63-seat Theatre Upstairs on 19 June 1973. The production won the 1973 Evening Standard Award for Best Musical with cast including Tim Curry, Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell, Julie Covington and Richard O'Brien himself as the character Riff Raff.

American record producer Lou Adler saw Rocky Horror in late 1973 and snapped up the American theatrical rights, bringing the show to his famous Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles with an all new cast except for Tim Curry as the iconic Dr. Frank N. Furter. The show played to full houses, only closing its ten-month run to give actors time to return to the United Kingdom for filming of the 20th Century Fox movie version.

The 1975 motion picture version struck a resonant chord in the pop-culture-savvy young adults and the film quickly ushered in a brand new market—the midnight movie. Beginning in 1977 and continuing until today, audiences began coming in costume and participating with the film in theatres. Becoming a rock & roll cult classic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is still in limited release almost 38 years after its premiere - holding the record for the longest-running theatrical release in film history.

Time warp back to 1973 when out-of-work actor, Richard O'Brien undertook to write a musical comedy to keep himself busy on winter evenings. Taking inspiration from his childhood passion for science fiction and B horror movies, O'Brien managed to artfully combine elements of the unintentional humor of B horror movies, portentous dialogue of schlock-horror, Steve Reeves muscle flicks and fifties rock and roll into his creation.

Just as midnight movie audiences have for over three and a half decades, attendees of this outrageous musical are invited to come in costume and actively participate in the show which will be presented for two performances, Friday April 12th and Saturday April 13th at 7:00 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. at the Cerro Coso Community College Lecture Center Stage. Tickets are $5 for all seats and are available at Red Rock Books and at the door.